Chapter Three

Mona's POV 

I woke in chains.

Not ordinary chains - these burned against my skin, etched with runes that pulsed with sickly green light. The collar around my neck was worse, a constant weight that made breathing feel like drowning.

"Ah, sleeping beauty awakens." Selena's voice drifted from the shadows of what I recognized as the pack's underground prison. "Three days you've been out. Almost missed your own birthday."

Three days. My eighteenth birthday was tomorrow.

"Where's Grandmother?" My voice came out raw.

"Dead." Selena examined her nails. "Father had to make an example. Harboring a Phoenix Wolf, teaching it to use its powers - treasonous acts against the pack."

Rage and grief warred in my chest, but when I tried to summon my fire, nothing came. The collar hummed, absorbing every spark of power.

"Ingenious, isn't it?" She tapped the collar. "Made specifically to contain Phoenix Wolves. Father bought it years ago from a witch, just in case you ever... manifested. Cost him half the pack's treasury, but worth every penny."

"Why?" I pulled against the chains. "Why not just kill me?"

"Because you're still useful." Father entered, flanked by guards. "The Nightshade Pack is demanding answers about the attack. Three of their wolves died in that fire of yours. Derek Cross is particularly... insistent about seeing you."

My heart jumped at Derek's name, but I kept my face neutral.

"He claims you're his mate," Father continued, watching me closely. "Ridiculous, of course. You're nothing. But his delusion might be useful."

"How?"

"Simple. You'll reject him publicly at tomorrow's ceremony. Break the bond before it fully forms. Then Selena will accept him as her chosen mate instead."

"He'll never agree to that!"

"He will when he sees what you really are." Father pulled out a vial of dark liquid. "One drop of this in your system tomorrow, and your Phoenix nature will manifest just enough to terrify everyone. They'll see you as the monster you are. Derek will reject you himself."

"You can't force a mate bond—"

His backhand sent me sprawling, the chains cutting into my wrists.

"I can do whatever I want. You're mine to control, always have been." He turned to leave, then paused. "Oh, and that little friend of yours? Sophie? She's been asking about you. Perhaps she needs to learn what happens to those who help monsters."

"Don't touch her!"

But he was already gone, leaving me with Selena's cruel laughter.

Hours passed in darkness. The collar drained me, made thinking difficult. But then I heard it - a soft scraping sound.

"Mona?" Sophie's whisper came through a crack in the wall. "Can you hear me?"

"Sophie! You need to leave. It's dangerous—"

"Shut up and listen. My grandmother survived. Barely, but she's alive. She gave me something for you." A small vial rolled through the crack. "Phoenix tears. Your mother's. Grandmother saved them for eighteen years."

I grabbed the vial with shaking hands. It glowed softly, warm against my palm.

"Three drops at midnight," Sophie instructed. "When your birthday truly begins. It won't break the collar, but it'll give you enough power to—"

Footsteps echoed down the corridor. Sophie's presence vanished just as Leon appeared.

I hid the vial in my palm as my brother studied me through the bars. He looked tired, conflicted.

"Is it true?" he asked quietly. "Are you really a Phoenix Wolf?"

"Would it matter if I was?"

He was quiet for a long moment. "Mother cried for three days after Father told her the plan. She doesn't want this, but she's too afraid to oppose him."

"She's not my mother, apparently."

"She raised you. That counts for something." Leon pulled out a key. "I can't free you. But I can give you this."

He unlocked the cell door and handed me a piece of bread and water. Hidden underneath was a small knife.

"Leon—"

"Father's wrong about many things," he said simply. "But I can't openly defy him. This is all I can do."

He left before I could respond.

As midnight approached, I felt it - a shift in the air, a tingling in my bones. My birthday. My awakening.

With trembling fingers, I uncorked the vial of phoenix tears. Three drops on my tongue, Sophie had said.

The effect was immediate.

Fire erupted through my veins, but not the burning kind. This was pure power, ancient and vast. The collar sparked and sputtered, trying to contain it, but the tears were stronger.

Then I heard him.

*Mona.*

Derek's voice in my mind, clearer than ever.

*Derek? How—*

*The mate bond. It's getting stronger. Where are you?*

*Pack prison. Underground. They're going to make me reject you tomorrow.*

*Like hell they are.*

I felt his rage through the bond, hot and protective.

*Don't come alone. Father has guards—*

*I'm not alone. The Academy sent reinforcements. And Mona... your grandmother. The old woman. She's alive. Sophie's grandmother got her to healers in time.*

Relief flooded through me. Grandmother was alive.

*We're coming tonight,* Derek continued. *But you need to be ready. Can you fight?*

I looked at Leon's knife, felt the phoenix tears still burning in my blood.

*I can try.*

*There's something else.* His mental voice grew serious. *The rogues who attacked three nights ago? They weren't random. Someone sent them. Someone who knew exactly what you were and wanted to force your power to manifest.*

*Who?*

*We're not sure yet. But Mona, this is bigger than just your pack. There are others looking for Phoenix Wolves. Others who—*

His voice cut off abruptly. The collar had adjusted, blocking our connection.

But I'd heard enough.

Footsteps approached again. Multiple sets this time.

"Get her ready," Father's voice commanded. "The ceremony's been moved up. We do this now, while it's still dark."

Guards flooded into my cell. They unlocked my chains but kept the collar on, dragging me toward the stairs.

"Father, please—"

"Silence. You speak only when told."

They hauled me to the pack circle, where hundreds of wolves had gathered despite the late hour. Selena stood at the center in a white dress, looking radiant. Derek was there too, held between two massive guards, his jaw clenched with fury.

"We gather tonight," Father announced, "to witness a rejection and a new beginning."

The crowd murmured, confused by the sudden ceremony.

"Mona Blackstone has been found to possess dangerous, unstable powers," Father continued. "For the safety of our pack, she will reject her mate bond with Derek Cross."

"That's not how mate bonds work!" someone shouted from the crowd.

Father ignored them. "Speak the words, Mona."

I looked at Derek. His storm-gray eyes met mine, and I saw a message there: *Not yet. Wait.*

"I said speak!" Father grabbed my arm, nails digging in.

"I..." My voice shook. The phoenix tears were wearing off, the collar's suppression growing stronger. "I..."

A howl split the night.

Then another.

And another.

But these weren't rogues.

Academy wolves poured into the circle, dozens of them, their eyes glowing with purpose. At their head ran a massive silver wolf with ancient markings.

The Headmaster himself had come.

"Nobody move," Father snarled, pulling me against him, Leon's knife pressed to my throat. When had he found it? "One step closer and she dies."

But I felt it then - midnight. My true birthday.

And the phoenix tears weren't done with me yet.

My skin began to glow.